RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
Published: December 15, 2003 (First published Jan. 06, 1936)
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: e-Book & audiobook
Pages: 266
Synopsis:
When Alice Asher is murdered in Andover, Hercule Poirot is already on to the clues. Alphabetically speaking, it’s one down, twenty-five to go.
There’s a serial killer on the loose. His macabre calling card is to leave the ABC Railway guide beside each victim’s body. But if A is for Alice Asher, bludgeoned to death in Andover; and B is for Betty Bernard, strangled with her belt on the beach at Bexhill; then who will Victim C be?
Thoughts:
A story about a serial killing with only the ABC Railway guide as a clue, and a mysterious letter to Poirot that may or may not be related to the murders. When I finished this book, I thought that this is my favorite Hercule Poirot book so far. However, only a couple of days have passed and I already forgot most of what happened, and I think that is saying something.
The letters to Poirot, the murders, and the only clue is a guide to a railway tie up the story quite well. We follow a huge set of characters and it would make you wonder if one of them is the serial killer. The story would not bore you, and even though Hasting is in this story, he is less annoying than before (but annoying still). And although I already expected the misdirect in the story, I did not expect the explanation of how the murder happened to be as such. And for that, I gave the extra 0.5-moon rating.
With that being said, the motive as to why the murderer killed the other victims is a bit vague. Even though the reason for one of the victims was well-explained, I really don’t see the connections of the other victims and why they are chosen. Moreover, it is not clear as to why the murderer sends the letters to challenge Poirot as it does not do much as the story wraps up. There is an explanation relating to the letters but it is quite questionable.
All in all, I like the plot and the twist, but I wish some details were thoroughly explained and make more sense in relation to the story as a whole.
That is all for this review.
Until next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 